New methods in breeding of farm animals, e.g. a very high concentration, aim to increase production and to lower the needed attending time, to secure better conditions for materials, especially as to hygiene, and to decrease production costs. The high concentration of stabling causes difficulties which cannot be solved the the hitherto known systems of milk-cow stabling, whether it be a confining system or a free one. In cow-sheds, where a confining stabling system is applied, the possibility of individual treatment or handling of animals is better because of a better over-all survey and continuous individual inspection. Any disturbance of a herd does not come into question in a cow-shed, the possibilities of injuries to the animals are limited, and the percentage of animals lost because of a technological selection, e.g. caused by mutual suckling, is very low.
In free stabling a greater variability in mechanization of a working process may be applied, thus automatization units may be utilized. One may save labor and achieve higher working productivity with respect to binding or confining cow-sheds. But a drawback of confining cow-sheds resides in a relatively bad and limited possibility of applying more efficient mechanization, which also causes a low working productivity. Movements of the materials in the shed during the working time make the animals uneasy; this also limits a high concentration of animals in one cow-house. Free stabling in cow-houses causes troubles especially in the group treatment of animals, and in some cases even in a herd treatment. The breeding technology affects an increased disturbance in herds, because of the driving of animals into individual treatment centers, fighting for a place at a trough, etc. For such a stabling one needs more and more walled areas, which causes an increase of investment capital as well as of devices for the handling and storing of dung.
In the free stabling of horned cattle, there are difficulties with respect to special treatment e.g. insemination, veterinary treatment, etc. A continuous movement of animals in the herd may cause the spreading of infections, e.g. molds. In the system of free stabling, the animals are often injured during driving and moving, and some of them die. Also a mutual suckling of milk between cows may take place. Hitherto known systems of horned cattle stabling, with respect to the possibilities of increasing the stage of mechanization and automation, and with respect to the increase of the working productivity, have not sufficient reserves for further development.
In many countries there have been searches for new ways for effective breeding, as well as for the stabling of milk-cows. A direction of the next development aims at a thorough industrial working process, i.e. to an application of a continuous process of production, wherein a milk-cow is transported to individual treatment centers.
One step in this development was reached by a Swedish concern, Alfa-Laval, with a system called "Unicar". There the cows are situated in individual boxes or stands which are connected in a chain or train moving on rails. On a stabling two-axis pallet there is installed a feeding trough, a drinking device with a water tank, and a tank for dung. The Unicar system consists of two sections, viz. a parking area and a treating area. Most of the time the milk-cows are stabled in the parking area, except for times when they are milked, fed, etc. These operations are carried out in centers situated in the treating area along the path of the mobile stands or boxes. When the working cycle is over, the pallets return to their places in the parking area. In the USSR, there has been designed a cow-house with the treatment of milk-cows in movable confinement. In such cow-house the milk-cows are confined to a feeding transporter which moves along the circumference of the cow-house. Thus the milk-cows are automatically brought to the sites of udder washing, milking, feeding, cleaning, and then are transported back to the initial place. Such system employs a "running belt" stabling princliple; it may not be advantageous for high-capacity conditions, but it may be useful for reconstructed cow-houses.
In the Academy of Science in the USSR, there has been designed a round transporter cow-house. In fact it is a round transporter with two rows of installed stands provided with a center trough. Channels for urine and dung are situated in the sides of the stands. Dung is removed by means of stable scrapers. By rotating the round transporter, milk-cows are transported to the milk-room, before which a feeding device for corn food is installed. After milking is over, forage is delivered. A similar conception may be found in a Czechoslovak design of a mobile round cow-house for milk-cows. Here, the previous idea is enlarged in a system of two up to four cow-houses of this type, mutually connected with one central milk-house. All of the above-mentioned systems of mobile stands up to now have not been worked out technologically, and only in several cases have models of such cow-houses been built. The results of tests have not been available for the construction of full-scale cow-houses.